[Rick Lee]

I'm not sure it's spot on. What law did Congress pass that loosened mortgage guidelines? The fed. gov't. doesn't tell investors what kinds of mortgages they can underwrite or buy. Pretty sure the fed. gov't. had no role whatsoever is creating the NINA or NINJA loans. Fannie and Freddie don't lend money and never have. And their guidelines were far more conservative than anyone's in subprime. Fannie's and Freddie's problems stem from the drop in home values. Subprime certainly contributed to the bubble and the burst. But Fannie and Freddie didn't throw money around recklessly. They should never have been allowed to get big enough that their failure threatens the whole U.S. housing market.